“…Therefore, the woodchuck and WHV are currently being investigated as a model for HBV-induced liver disease. Binding sites for polymerized human albumin have been demonstrated for the HBV virion (1, 26), the 22-nm forms of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (10,12,15,22,25), and one or more of the constituent polypeptides (13,21,23,24,38). The polymerized albumin-binding sites (PABSs) were found to correlate with the presence of markers of active virus replication (HB e antigen [HBeAg]) and have been proposed to function in species-specific virus attachment to hepatocytes and thus mediate virus infectivity (18,19,23,37).…”